A Day in the Life
by Peter Smith
Summary: This is a story about a day in the life of Zordon and Alpha, as they deal with monsters, emergencies, disasters, alien invasions, giant robots, an old enemy out for revenge... and a missing schoolboy.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Ranger fans. This is the latest in my collection of point-of-view stories. This is a story told from Zordon's point of view, about all the things he and Alpha have to deal with on one special crazy day. There'll be a "24"-style ticking clock in the top corner, because I though that would be really cool :). This story will be part of the Junior Rangers saga, which means that the original MMPR team are still around (and are now in college), and there's a junior team of six younger Rangers. That's really all you need to know, Zordon explains everything else as we go. Some of the chapters will be quite long, others will be quite short (because Zordon and Alpha aren't busy every minute of the day), and there will be a lot of little continuity Easter eggs for those watching closely. Zordon always knew a lot more than people thought he did :). Anyway, enjoy! Feedback is much appreciated.

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**3:59 AM**

On my home planet of Eltar, we had a saying. In the hours before dawn, we would often remark to each other that the night was so cold and quiet, even the ghosts were asleep. After all this time, it is one of the few memories I have of Eltarian culture. The irony is that sleep is something I have no need for anymore. With a physical body that no longer needs replenishing, I have no use for food or drink, either. It's been so long that I can't even recall the taste of my favourite Eltarian wines, from the vineyards under the orange skies of our second moon.

In another life, I was a great warrior, charged with the protection of Eltar. Until the day one of my oldest foes trapped me in a dimensional rift, out-of-step with the rest of space and time. I've remained here ever since. I miss the simple things the most, like a cool breeze on my face, the warmth of the sun, or the feeling of soft grass between my toes. But I try not to live in the past. For centuries, Earth has been my adopted home, and this is where I now find myself, still watchful.

My name is Zordon. And this is the story of my day.

As Alpha blinked to life, powering back on after his daily recharge, I switched on the lights in the central chamber of the Command Centre, and began reviewing the data streams. There is a planet to watch, and a galaxy of threats to monitor. There are people who need our help.

And others who need to be stopped.

Glancing across the Command Centre, I watched as the clock set in one of the counters ticked over to four. Registering movement in my energy tube, Alpha looked up to me and granted me a little wave.

"Good morning Zordon," Alpha said.

"Good morning Alpha," I smiled, my voice booming through the room. "Let's begin the day."

_To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

Striker - thanks for the review, man :). When I was sitting down, last year, trying to figure out who to write a point-of-view story for next, I kept thinking, well, wouldn't it be interesting to get inside Zordon's head? I mean, he's the central character for the whole show - twenty years later, we're still talking about Zordon and his legacy. I know that he's trapped inside the Command Centre, but I kept thinking, what would he do all day? And then I started throwing in as much from the PRU as I could, and thirty pages later, here we are :).

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**5:14 AM**

"The tests are all complete Zordon," Alpha announced. "Everything is working as it should be."

"Excellent," I said. We spend the first hour of every day performing system checks in a well-practiced routine. Our most pressing task is to make sure all our weaponry and zords are fully operational, and can be summoned urgently if needed. After that, we check the monitoring systems within the Command Centre, before making sure the teleportation-network is online. We run a diagnostic scan of our connection to the Morphin' Grid, before a sweep over various global hotspots. Finally, we scan the lunar surface to ensure no trouble from Zedd. Today's sweep picked up no surges of intense magical energy. "Let's move on to the messages," I continued.

Alpha stepped over to a different computer and began typing. Every morning, streams of data from all over the galaxy arrive in the Command Centre, all of which need to be reviewed and sorted.

"All the major space transit routes are free of trouble," Alpha began, reading from the glowing computer monitor. "There have been several clashes on the planet Morlock along disputed borders. And aye-yi-yi Zordon, several long-distance teleportation devices were stolen last night from a laboratory on the planet Techthon."

My brow fell. "That could be trouble," I said. "Very few non-magical entities have ever mastered long-distance teleportation. What else?"

A report printed out, and Alpha tore the sheet away. "This just came in, Zordon. One of our operatives on the planet Euclid was investigating unusual electromagnetic phenomena, and tracked it to one of the slum cities. Apparently only one person was present during every incident. We don't have a name, but a composite picture."

"Put it up on the viewing screen."

"You got it," and Alpha returned to his computer. After a few seconds, a face was staring back at us from the viewing screen.

"Alpha," I began slowly, "I think I recognise him. Look at the scar. That's Skansan, from the city of Devryn on Lomerius."

"Zordon, I don't remember him."

"He was a simple thief with delusions of grandeur," I recalled. "He somehow acquired powerful weapons technology, and planned to sell it to the highest bidder. But working with the security force of Devryn, we found him, regained the weapons and thwarted his plans. This was on the same day as the Terror Toad incident here on Earth."

"That's right Zordon! But he escaped, didn't he?"

I nodded. "Not before swearing vengeance against myself and the city of Devryn, like they always do," I replied. "I only wish we'd learned how he was able to steal that technology in the first place."

"If he's making plans, we have to warn the city's high chancellor!"

"Absolutely," I replied. "Alpha, contact him at once."

As Alpha typed, the viewing screen cut to the planet Lomerius, floating in the great vacuum of space, before descending towards the mining city of Devryn, sitting on an arid desert plain and ringed by sandy mountains. Devryn is a sprawling industrial centre behind high stone walls. The city's natural riches mean that Devryn is well protected, and the city's high chancellor is a wealthy and powerful man. The sun was just setting, and framed in the fading light were four giant stone figures, carved onto the side of a nearby cliff-face, their faces twisted with rage. According to local legend, they weren't carvings but actual monstrous giants who once tried to destroy the city. I know there's more to those legends than just a story, mostly because I was there at the time.

Alpha patched us through to the secretary of the city's chancellor, who promised to alert the chancellor immediately. They must've been annoyed at the intrusion, though, and we had to wait another fifteen minutes. After all these years, diplomacy is still a game I have trouble playing. It's all about finding that careful balance between what someone wants to hear but needs to know. Everyone has their own agenda, and rarely is it obvious.

"Thank you for the warning," the chancellor replied curtly, once Alpha and I had passed on most of the information we had. "We will inform our security forces to be on guard. Good day Zordon of Earth." The screen went blank.

"Alpha," I began, turning back to my robot assistant. "Run a check on all of Skansan's previous allies."

"Already done," Alpha replied, and I could hear the pride in his voice. "Most of Skansan's criminal gang have been either captured or destroyed. The one person I couldn't find was Guptus the wizard."

I smiled. "Ah, poor Guptus. He was a petty magician who always considered himself the equal of Zedd or Rita, but nobody ever had the heart to tell him otherwise. Still, we need to get the word out to all our agents. If Skansan is resurfacing, he obviously has a goal in mind."

"Right away Zordon," Alpha said. Once the message had been sent out, we turned back to the newsfeed, and continued.

_To be continued._


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews :). Striker - no, but the day is still very young. Jokermask - thank you! Great stories can come from the simplest ideas, like, what does Zordon do all day? Chapter three is short, but I'll have chapter four up on the weekend. Enjoy :).

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**6:32 AM**

Responding to the messages took longer than usual. Once they'd been seen to, Alpha and I shifted our attention back to matters closer to home, and spent the next hour catching up on global politics and current affairs here on Earth. Outside the walls of the Command Centre, the first rays of the morning sun were now gently bathing the desert in warm light.

The most frustrating thing about organising information is the sheer volume of it that we have to sort through every day. You never know what tiny fragment of data might end up being not only useful, but incredibly vital. For instance, an archaeological discovery in Tahiti may result in a Polynesian volcano demon trying to ignite the Pacific Rim. Or chatter behind closed doors in Eastern Europe may hint at a decommissioned Soviet satellite crashing out of orbit towards a heavily-populated area.

Even popular culture, as bizarre and enthralling as it can be, can often influence evil-doers or else provide clues in how to stop them. Not just the Western culture that most of the Rangers are familiar with. One of the most fascinating things about the collective human experience is all the ways people interpret the world around them. Although he'd be loathe to admit it, I know Alpha secretly enjoys soap operas from Latin America, while I've always had an inexplicable love for classical opera. And yes, we both enjoy well-told science fiction.

Human creativity. So vital, and yet still so undervalued.

_To be continued._


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the compliments everybody :). It's a long story, and there's a couple more really short chapters, but from here on in, the chapters will start getting a bit meatier. The day is continuing, everybody's waking up (since Alpha and Zordon don't really need to sleep, so they make the most of those early mornings), things start happening. I promise, PR continuity is coming, there's just a few things we need to get through first :). Enjoy chapter four!

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**7:21 AM**

"Aye-yi-yi Zordon!" Alpha shouted, interrupting a thrilling rendition of _Die Zauberfloete_ in the Bolshoi Theatre, "we have weather reports coming in from the planet Euclid. There's monsoon flooding on one of the northern continents."

At his words, I was immediately all business. Alpha and I pay far more attention to weather broadcasts than the Rangers suspect. You'd be surprised how important the weather can be.

"Can you get us in close?" I asked.

Alpha nodded, already working his magic with the computers. Before long, we were looking down at the planet from high above the surface. The atmosphere was extremely turbulent. From the reports, it had been raining for weeks now. The saturated ground could absorb no more water. Even as we watched, rivers and lakes were rising quickly, inundating the countryside. I swept my gaze over the landscape, but my expression soon lightened.

"I don't see any towns in immediate danger, and it seems the area is sparsely populated," I said. "I think we can leave this to the local authorities."

It was a call I'd had to make often. At least today, nobody was left in harm's way. But in some corners of the galaxy, we have few agents to actually call on. A long time ago, before Rita confined me to this time-warp, there was a Ranger program operating on multiple worlds throughout the galaxy, dedicated to dealing with all manner of threats and disasters. Euclid never had an established Ranger team, but in an emergency, I could've easily negotiated help to arrive from nearby planets. There are very few people who don't me a favour.

But my legacy seems to endure, in one way or another. There are still Rangers dotted around the galaxy, alongside a number of friends and allies. Their numbers are small, but steadily growing. I know they sometimes feel helplessly alone, and I can't fault them for that. It has been so dark for so long. But it seems to me that the galaxy is slowly waking up after a long sleep. Ancient wrongs are being righted, and one-by-one, heroes are stepping out of the shadows and making their presence known, once again.

_To be continued._


	5. Chapter 5

Optima99 - good to hear from you :). I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far :).

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**8:27 AM**

It was about this time of the day when Alpha and I were busy with other projects that I noticed a light on the far control panel blinking silently.

"Alpha," I began, nodding to the console. "How long has that alarm been activating?"

"Aye-yi-yi Zordon, not very long. I was just there a minute ago."

"Then it's something that requires our attention," I said, and scanned the incoming message feed. "Alpha, five minutes ago the computers picked up a large transfer of funds across interplanetary banks."

"I'll track the transaction!" Alpha replied.

"Excellent plan," I said. "Let's see where the trail leads."

I'm not sure I agree with the old human adage that the love of money is the root of all evil. Money is a tool like any other, and it can be used to both destroy _and_ create. Indeed, thanks to canny investing, the Command Centre has a moderate fortune to its name, funds that occasionally can be very useful. But it never ceases to amaze me how often truly gargantuan sums of money are connected to serious trouble. To that end, we've hidden electronic bugs in several of the galaxy's largest financial institutions, to detect when enormous amounts of money are being shifted around the galaxy. To their credit, the banks are getting better at finding the bugs. Most of the time, the funds are for legitimate business ventures, and we ignore them. Even if the transaction relates to something illegitimate, Alpha and I usually pass on the information to the relevant local authorities.

But every now and then, a transaction large enough to attract our attention means something very bad is about to happen.

"We're tracking the funds through a transmission relay station on KO-35," Alpha said. "From the star coordinates here, the final destination is," but his voice broke off. "Onyx. The planet Onyx."

I frowned. That wasn't what I wanted to hear. "That is grave news," I said. "We both know Onyx is a lawless wild on the outer rim of the galaxy. We have no operatives anywhere near the planet. Alpha, can you find out…?"

But Alpha was already a step ahead of me. His fingers danced across three keyboards at once. "Aye-yi-yi Zordon! It's heavily protected but if we can just… there!" Across the room, the viewing screen switched on, showing a featureless plain in one of Onyx's many desert regions. But looming before us was a large factory complex, with many smaller buildings connected to a gigantic central plant. Chimneys, cranes and water towers rose from the building's roof, while discarded pieces of machinery littered the surrounding countryside.

"That's a munitions factory," I said, and swept my gaze over the complex. "Judging by the language on the front, I'd say it's run by rogue weaponeers from the planet Dhalia," and I looked back to Alpha. "Can you get us inside the building?"

"I'll try Zordon," Alpha replied. "But it's not going to be easy. The factory's internal surveillance is encrypted, and the planet will be moving out of range very soon."

A minute passed, then two. I watched as Alpha worked a minor miracle, slowly gaining access to a computer system located further away than human imagination can contemplate. Finally, the image on the viewing screen flickered and refocussed. We were now looking at the inside of the factory, with rows and rows of silent robotic warriors standing in formation.

"Zordon!" Alpha gasped. "That's…"

"…an army," I finished. "And someone just paid for them."

Even Alpha's voice was hushed at what we were seeing. "Aye-yi-yi," he murmured. "There must be thousands of them."

"How much time do we have left?"

"Not long Zordon. Maybe a minute?"

"Then excuse me for a moment," I said. "I wish to take a closer look."

Alpha glanced up to me. "Zordon, wait! It'll be…" but his voice trailed off as my energy tube went dark.

Gliding between programs that didn't notice my passing, I stepped down into the virtual landscape that was the Command Centre's operating system, and watched as streams of data arced and crackled around me like fireworks. Interfacing directly with the building's systems is easy enough for me to do, but something I try to avoid as it leaves me distracted and vulnerable.

Nonetheless, after thirty seconds my face reappeared in the dimensional tube. Alpha let out of a sigh of relief, a habit he'd picked up from the Rangers. "Zordon, what did you find?" he asked.

"Those robots were exceptionally well-crafted," I replied. "From what I could see, the weaponeers did an excellent job. But I found no mention of who the army was for, or why it was built." I paused. "This is something we need to keep an eye on, Alpha."

Alpha nodded. "I'll make a note in our file of open cases."

"Thank you," I said, and my gaze became distant. "Things are happening today, Alpha. And I don't want to be caught napping."

_To be continued._


	6. Chapter 6

Jokermask - funny thing is, I started working on "Day in the Life" back last year, after I finished "Seito". And I pretty much finished the weekend that "Megaforce" aired. So yeah, it would've been nifty to throw in a Gosei reference, but no, it was a case of unfortunate timing. I'm still making up my mind on "Megaforce", although I'm enjoying parts of it.

As for chapter 6, I knew that, regardless of everything else that happens today, at some point, the Rangers have to fight a monster in the abandoned warehouse district! Like, that just had to happen :). This also features the greatest piece of dialogue I've ever written between Zac and Billy (and I think I wrote the rest of the chapter around that one exchange, heh. You'll know it when you get to it). The Rangers finally make an appearance, and I apologise for holding them off for so long, but it was deliberate - the focus here is on Zordon and Alpha. So what do Alpha and Zordon do while the Rangers are out fighting? Read on...

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**9:16 AM**

"Right Zordon," Alpha said. "We've tracked down the location of most of the…"

The Command Centre alarm suddenly exploded to life, cutting Alpha off mid-sentence. Both of us looked up and around. The alarm is set to automatically respond to very specific, narrow parameters. If it ever activates before even Alpha or I have spotted a threat, then we know immediately that we're in trouble.

"Alpha, it's a monster attack!" I said. "Activate the…"

"Got it," Alpha replied, already typing. Across the room, the viewing screen flashed to an empty street in the city, with abandoned factories and warehouse complexes on all sides. As we watched, a six-foot-tall humanoid creature was making its way down the road, on a course straight towards the city centre. It was wearing a bulky, armoured power-suit, with two glowing panels where its eyes should've been. The computer was picking up no signs of biological life, which meant that nobody was inside the suit. At the end of its arms were strange, vented devices. Reaching an intersection, the creature aimed one of its arms for a nearby building. The air seemed to shimmer for a second, before the warehouse suddenly shattered, the walls and windows exploding outwards.

As the robot continued its deadly path, we were already scanning our databanks for anything we could find, seeing if an ally had fought something similar, or matching the design specs to other known robotic foot-soldiers. During monster attacks, this was our job, to arm the Rangers with as much knowledge as we could before sending them into live combat. But today there was nothing to be found.

"There's no information on this monster," Alpha called.

"No energy signature either," I added. "The beast seems to be a machine following a program. There was no magic in its creation."

"I'll call the Rangers," Alpha said, and reached for the console.

"Hey Zordon," Jason's voice echoed through the room. "All six of us are here. What's going on?"

From the background noise, I could imagine the Senior Rangers standing in the locker-room hallway of the Youth Centre. "There's a monster in the abandoned warehouse district," I said, "rapidly approaching the city. You need to morph and teleport to its location."

"We're on it," Jason replied.

"Be careful Rangers," I said. "Whatever this creature is here to do, we have no idea who sent it or how to stop it. Good luck."

The line fell silent. One of the consoles suddenly exploded in sparks, and I felt the surge of power that signified all six Rangers morphing. When the rush of energy faded, Alpha and I turned back to the viewing screen as six teleport streaks appeared in the sky and shot towards the city. A second later, the six Rangers materialised in a circle around the creature, blocking its path forward.

"Okay guys," said Jason. "Whatever this thing wants, we stop it here!"

"Right!"

The creature raised its arms and fired, forcing the Rangers to leap to safety. As everyone rolled to their feet, Billy and Kimberly raced forward. The monster struck Billy's fist away and stepped around a high kick from Kimberly. The Pink Ranger found her footing and sprang back towards the creature, but the monster easily fended her off. Countering a rapid assault from Billy, the beast blasted the Blue Ranger back, before spinning towards Kimberly and kicking her off her feet. Even as they fell, Trini somersaulted down in front of the monster, kicking high and forcing the beast back. Reaching for her blade blaster, Trini sliced the blade towards her opponent. The creature dodged one swing, but wasn't fast enough to avoid a second, and the blade shattered the beast's left optical sensor. Stung, the robot raised its arms and blasted Trini away.

"Zordon," Alpha began tensely. "Our readings show that the blasts are growing more powerful. They're building in intensity every time."

Back in the city, Billy and Kimberly raced over to help Trini, as Zac and Jason dropped down in front of the monster. They didn't give the creature time to fire, immediately swinging two powerful punches that sent the beast crashing. Following after their opponent, Jason kicked high while Zac aimed a punch for the creature's head. But the beast struck away Jason's boot, dodged Zac's fist and then countered. Before they could retaliate, the creature fired again. The air sizzled with the power of the onslaught, and the Red and Black Rangers were slammed back off their feet into a nearby building. Taking the opportunity to attack while the creature was distracted, Tommy took to the air – the beast aimed his weapons for the ground beneath Tommy, and the resulting explosion of rubble and concrete blasted Tommy out of the air.

Helping each other to their feet, the Rangers regrouped. Raising its arms, the beast slowly closed in.

An alarm sounded. "Zordon, the energy levels are spiking!" Alpha said. "It's going to fire again!"

"Get them out of there!" I shouted.

The Rangers vanished from the scene just as the creature fired again, missing them by half a second. A minute later, the team shot down through the ceiling and materialised before me.

"Zordon, what's the deal?" Kim asked.

Jason nodded. "Why did you pull us out there?"

"I'm sorry for that," I began, gazing down over my young charges. "But the creature's blasts were growing more powerful. We were worried that even with your suits, you might not survive."

"What was that thing anyway?" Zac asked. "He was tough as hell!"

"We have no idea," I replied. "We know it's not magical."

"No magic?" Tommy repeated. "Can't we just teleport it into the sun?"

"Aye-yi-yi Rangers, we already tried," Alpha said. "Whoever made the creature must've second-guessed us. Something inside the robot is broadcasting an interfering signal. We can't even see inside it to learn about its energy weapon."

"But didn't you feel it?" asked Kimberly.

"Yeah," Zac agreed. "It was using sound."

Alpha looked up to me. "Zordon, if the monster was using intense sonic beams, that would match our readings."

"Then we have a plan to negate his tactical advantage," Billy began. "A concentrated beam of anti-noise."

That was Billy. I've lost track of the number of times Billy has improvised a solution to a problem that the team has faced. Billy's mind is one of the greatest weapons the team possesses, and rare is the day when I'm not in awe of the miracles he can and does accomplish in very little time.

Tommy glanced over to the Blue Ranger. "Anti what now?"

"Sound is basically particles in motion," Trini explained. "What Billy's saying is that a wave of opposing sound would cancel out the vibrations from the monster's cannons, effectively shutting down those weapons."

"Affirmative," Billy nodded.

Jason stepped forward. "How long will it take you to build something for us?"

"I'd need a speaker and some recording equipment," Billy began. "But I think most of the necessary pieces are here in the Command Centre. With Alpha and Trini's assistance, it shouldn't take long at all."

"Okay," Jason nodded, and gazed around the group. "Here's the plan. Zordon, tell the Junior Team to be ready in case we need them. Billy and Trini, stay here and work on an anti-noise cannon. The rest of us will head back into the city and slow this thing down the old-fashioned way."

Silence followed. People often assumed that I chose Jason as the team's leader because of his fighting abilities. While his physical skills are unbelievably fearsome, and I've watched entire armies learn that lesson the hard way, that isn't it. No, I chose Jason because the young man has this amazing ability to inspire the people around him. He can make people believe in him, and more to the point, believe in themselves.

"When you confront the beast, attack from its left side," I said. "Trini damaged the monster's sensors earlier. It should give you a small advantage."

"Let's go guys," said Kim. While Trini and Billy stayed here with Alpha, the other four reached for their communicators and teleported back into the city.

I turned to the viewing screen as the four Rangers touched down on the street a short distance away from the monster. Seeing the Rangers return, the robot lowered its head and charged towards them, the street shaking as it ran.

Jason turned to the Pink Ranger beside him. "Kim, get his attention," he said. "Keep him off-balance."

"You got it," Kimberly nodded. Summoning her bow with a thought, she fired a barrage of arrows at the beast, drawing its attention before leading it away from the other Rangers. As the smallest and lightest member of the team, Kimberly is often underestimated by the team's opponents. But that is one of her greatest strengths. Her will and determination are formidable, and I've watched many opponents learn a valuable lesson about taking Kimberly lightly.

With the monster distracted, Tommy somersaulted down before the beast, attacking on its left side with Saba. The beast spun to face the White Ranger, but Tommy kicked its arm away and slashed again, forcing the monster back.

Fighting to recover, the beast was suddenly launched off its feet as Zac swung a powerful roundhouse punch. Many people have observed that Zac is the kind of person who's in love with life. It's that boundless energy that makes him so crucial to the team, to drive them and lift them when nothing else can. His battle instincts are sharper than even he realises. I watched as he chased after the beast, dancing around the creature's attacks and raining down blow after blow on the monster's shell.

Jason charged forward with his sword held high as Zac stepped back to catch his breath. Glancing up, the Black Ranger saw blue and yellow teleport streaks shooting down towards them, and Billy and Trini appeared by his side a second later. Billy was holding an unusual-looking cannon.

"Is that it?" Zac asked. "Does it work?"

"No time to test, but we assume so," Billy replied.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Zac asked, gesturing back to Jason trading blows with the beast. "Play that funky music, white boy."

Billy blinked. "You've been keeping that in reserve for some time, haven't you?"

Zac grinned beneath his helmet. "Affirmative."

Across the battlefield, Jason struck away the monster's arm, then leaped out of danger. The creature turned to follow when Zac's voice rang out.

"Hey tin-can!" the Black Ranger shouted.

The monster spun around to face the Black, Blue and Yellow Rangers. Its programming sensed an opportunity to attack, and the creature raised its arms and fired – just as Billy raised the sonic cannon and pulled the trigger. The air above the street shimmered, and the Rangers felt the hair on their arms standing on end as an odd feeling passed over them. Nothing else happened.

In the Command Centre, I smiled. "They did it," I murmured.

The monster glanced down to his arm cannons, then pointed them and fired again and again, growing increasingly frustrated. As he stepped back in confusion, Tommy charged forward, slashing in a wide arc with Saba and destroying both the beast's primary weapons. The robot staggered back in a blaze of sparks, only to see the five Rangers standing before it with Jason holding the Megablaster high.

"Good night," Jason said, and pulled the trigger. The blast scorched across the battlefield and slammed into the beast in a blaze of fire, instantly destroying it in an explosion that lit up the street and sent a fireball roaring skyward. Lowering the cannon, Jason glanced to his team-mates, and let out a sigh of relief.

"We did it," the Red Ranger said, and high-fived Billy. "Good job guys."

"Congratulations Rangers," I said, my voice echoing out of their communicators. "The monster is destroyed. The city is safe."

Alpha glanced up to me. "Zordon, you don't sound happy."

"Zedd's attacks are more personal," I said. "They're targeted to specifically exploit the weaknesses of the Rangers. Such wide-ranging devastation isn't his style at all. So what did this accomplish today? Who sent that monster, and why?" I paused. "I'm glad the monster was destroyed, Alpha, but this bothers me. It bothers me a lot."

_To be continued._


	7. Chapter 7

Optima - yeah, sorry, I should've mentioned it :). In a couple of chapters, there'll be six original characters here that'll really confuse you :). Scroll down my page, you'll see my first 8 stories were about the Junior Team, a secondary set of six younger Rangers (who join the senior team). A lot of my stories are about that team, but honestly, that's really it, like, that's all you need to follow "Day in the Life" (like I said, Zordon will be explaining everything here as we go). I hope you keep reading, though, I do think you'll enjoy this one (even with another team running around in it, heh).

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**10:07 AM**

With the battle over, the Rangers all teleported back to their homes and were greeted by their friends and family. I watched them return, checking in on all six to make sure they were safe. I think they remind me of my own family, and the life I left behind on Eltar. I always thought the memories would fade but they never did. It was a good life, a happy one, even. But my fight against injustice and tyranny, and the war against Zedd and Rita, placed an impossible strain on all my relationships. Those wars cost me more than I ever thought they would. We parted on bad terms, and I've no doubt my wife and sons had passed away eons ago.

I only hoped they'd been happy.

With the resources at my disposal here in the Command Centre, I suppose it would be easy to find out what happened to them. But with all the evils I deal with every day, it is the one thing I'd never been able to face. It was entirely likely that I had descendants. After all this time, there were possibly thousands of them. The Rangers and I may have already met them without even realising it. But they'd just be faces to me. It wouldn't mean anything. At worst, tracking down my descendants might make them targets. No, it's better this way.

Still, as grateful as I am for every life we save and every monster we stand up to, I know deep in my heart that it'll never make up for everything I lost.

I thought of them for another few minutes. But there was work to do.

Besides, I had a new family to watch over.

_To be continued._


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for all the feedback and reviews :). I massively appreciate it :). Jokermask - I did, I checked out your two "Genesis" stories this afternoon. I really liked them, I enjoyed how you folded all that continuity into a single timeline. I really liked that. Speaking of folding continuities in together...

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**11:22 AM**

Alpha and I had just finished analysing battle footage of the earlier fight when a distress call came through, the alarm chiming urgently.

Alpha spun to the nearest control panel. "That's a call from the planet Horath!" he said. "I'll patch it through right away!"

"Zordon, are you there?" came the voice. It was so soft we could barely hear it. I knew this would be tricky. Horath is literally on the opposite side of the galaxy from Earth. Communicating with the planet for long periods of time is almost impossible thanks to the sheer distance. We had to act fast.

"We've received your message," I replied, "but we can barely hear you."

"Zordon, it's me Andros! I need your help!"

Andros was the Red Ranger from the planet KO-35, which is as close to the centre of the galaxy as you can get. A peaceful and technologically advanced planet, KO-35 is the home of many space-faring organisations. Andros is the only Ranger from the planet. Whenever he's on this side of the galaxy, and my own Rangers are unlikely to interrupt, he'll check in with Alpha and myself. Andros is brave but headstrong, and lacks the levelling influence that a team of Rangers would provide. Consequently, he has a habit of charging into situations that end up overwhelming him. Often.

Honestly, he'll be the death of me one day.

"What's wrong Andros?" I asked.

"It's the titans, Zordon. The titans of Horath," came the reply. "I had to make an emergency landing in the Megaship, but we must've woken them up when we landed. They're… awake, and chasing me now…"

Only half of the planet Horath had been settled by human colonists. The southern hemisphere remained largely untouched. One of the legends of the planet was that an island in the great southern ocean was home to a race of titans, giant creatures who moulded Horath into existence before falling into a never-ending sleep. "Hold on Andros!" I replied. "Hold on as long as you can. Help is coming."

"Quickly, Zordon! The titans seem very angry…" and the line fell silent.

"Alpha," I began. "Call Prince Trysten, and tell him of Andros's predicament. Ask him to send the Horath Rangers, and tell him they'll need spells to send the titans back to sleep."

"Right away Zordon," Alpha nodded, and began typing.

Prince Trysten is the ruler of the city of Azhron. He's a young man with whom we share a strong alliance. Like I said earlier, diplomacy is a tricky thing indeed, but Trysten owes the Rangers a great deal, and he knows that if I ever do call him, it is because of absolute emergency. Once Alpha had passed the message along, he continued trying to patch our surveillance systems through to the planet's southern hemisphere. It took a solid fifteen minutes before we could reach them, but we soon saw that the message had been received, and the prince had sent out his Rangers in time. The planet's titans had fallen back into their deep sleep, while the Horath Rangers used their fleets of zords to ferry Andros back to his ship.

"Thank you Zordon," Andros said, now safely back in the Megaship. "I owe you another one."

I smiled. "Let's not keep tabs," I said. "Just express your gratitude to Prince Trysten in person before you leave Horath."

"Done. I suspect I'll be here a while, though. I hadn't even planned to land at all. While we were flying, DECA took the ship through some kind of weird electromagnetic field that shorted us out. The more I think about it, the titans were already awake when the Megaship came down."

"So the question becomes what woke them up?" I asked. "It's something we'll keep an eye on. In any event, travel safely Andros," and as we lost our connection to the planet, the line fell into static. But as I thought about the titans, my mind flashed back to the giants on Lomerius, standing watch over the city of Devryn.

"Alpha," I began, "in the vaults below, do we still have the crystal of shadows? That jewel the warring Lomerian desert tribes were going to use against each other?"

"I believe we do," Alpha replied. "It's locked away in a sealed vault. You know what sunlight does to the jewel. Why do you ask Zordon?"

"No reason in particular," I said, although Alpha knew me well enough to see right through me. "It's just good to know."

_To be continued._


	9. Chapter 9

Striker - Yeah, the "death of me" line was one of those things that kind of came to me, and was too funny to leave out :). Thanks for the feedback peeps. I'm glad you liked the cameos from Andros and the Megaship. Hold onto your hats ... more continuity bombs being dropped the next couple of chapters :). Oh, and here, I'm starting to introduce my original characters. Enjoy :).

* * *

**11:58 AM**

"Zordon," came Alpha's voice urgently, indicating one of the consoles closest to my energy tube. A light was flashing. This was the console specifically for communication with the Rangers. If any member of the team called us directly, it was usually for something urgent, dangerous, or both. Today, the light was flashing orange. "It's a call from Peter."

I nodded. "Thank you Alpha," I replied, and from my position high above the room, I opened the communication channel. "Peter, are you there?" I asked. "What's the emergency?"

There was a second of silence on the other end. I imagined Peter glancing around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "Sorry, it's not an emergency, not really," the Orange Ranger's voice echoed into the central chamber. "I didn't know who else to call. A friend of ours is missing. David Corbett is his name. He's tall with dark curly hair. Nobody can find him, and his parents haven't seen him since last night."

"A missing person?" Alpha asked. "Have you tried calling the police? I'm sure Ian's father would…"

"You're right," Peter said. "But Dave's been so withdrawn and sad lately. We all figured something was bothering him and he'd bounce out of it by himself. But his parents called this morning and nobody can find him." There was another pause. I could hear the uncertainty in Peter's voice. "I'm really worried, Zordon. We all are. Can you, I don't know, keep an ear out? Listen in on the police radio frequencies? I know you guys are probably busy, but…"

"But we'll monitor the situation," I replied. For Peter to even ask told me how serious he thought things were. "I can't promise anything, but we'll do our best. Alpha will call you if there's any news."

"Thanks. I mean it, thank you. We'll keep looking here."

I know some of the Rangers have wondered why I picked Peter as the leader of the Junior Team. He and Jason have such different styles of leadership. While Jason has that burning fire deep within, Peter is more cautious and conservative in his approach. Words are his weapon of choice, and I've seen him use them very well. But I always have reasons for every move I make. I hope one day he understands them.

"Good luck," I said. "Let us know if you need any further assistance," and the line fell dead. "Now Alpha, where were we?"

"We'd just translated an ancient Roman tablet," Alpha replied. "From there, we'd found a lead on DaiShi."

Oh yes. One of the last things Rita did, before trapping me in this time warp, was to unleash one of her pets on Earth to keep my allies here busy. The beast's name was DaiShi. We never did find out what happened to him, though. Just one more mystery we devote what spare time we have to solving.

But something in Peter's tone stayed with me. I hesitated for a second, then glanced down to the Alpha.

"Alpha," I began, "can you keep an eye on the police band in the city? Just in case Peter's fears prove warranted…"

_To be continued._


	10. Chapter 10

Sita, thank you so much for the compliments :). In a long story, I've often found that short chapters keep it moving a bit faster. I'm glad you liked it. Jokermask - yeah, the link between DaiShi and Rita seemed so elementary, for me, that I couldn't leave it out. At this point, we're over the halfway point! Thanks everyone for sticking with me so far :). While a lot of these chapters will stand by themselves, from this point on, they're all going to start connecting, so if you haven't read the earlier chapters, you might be a little lost on some things from this point on. As promised, more continuity here, but something a bit left-of-centre. Anyway, enjoy!

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**12:40 PM**

"Alpha," I called, and Alpha stepped back into the central chamber from where he'd been doing some maintenance work in the armoury. "I'm detecting some urgent bulletins on the newsfeed from the planet Techthon," I continued. "If you can find the right channel and put it up on the viewing screen?"

"Absolutely Zordon," Alpha replied. "Just give me one second and I'll…"

His voice was drowned out as the viewing screen switched on. Alpha and I have seen enough disasters to recognise one in progress without needing to hear a single word from the officials. The screen was covered in an alien language, while the picture showed a large industrial complex on the outskirts of a city I recognised as Malthus. But we weren't looking at a factory.

It was one of the mines.

"The computers are translating the feed, right now," Alpha said, willing the monitor to move faster. "It appears that equipment malfunction led to a collapse several minutes ago. There are twenty-three workers trapped underground."

I frowned. That was unusual by itself, since very few mines on Techthon used human miners anymore. After a number of recent tragedies, most of the unions in the planet's largest cities had banded together to demand robotic droids be used in the mines. Techthon was settled by humans many centuries ago, and these days is the technological centre of the galaxy. The planet is known for its engineering colleges, construction plants, and many advances in medical and scientific research. But it's also renowned for its manufacture of weapons and vehicles of war.

"Aye-yi-yi Zordon, we don't have a team of Rangers on Techthon to call upon."

"No, we do not," I said. "And we have to reach the trapped miners. They'll be injured, alone and running out of oxygen. I'll send a distress signal to all nearby planets."

"And I'll try to get a lock on the miners themselves," Alpha said hopefully. "Maybe we can teleport them to safety from here?" I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. Locking onto people or items of intense magical power was one thing, since our computers could locate them easily. But a delicate extrication of injured civilians not accustomed to teleportation was difficult enough here on Earth. Across the gulf of space? Impossible.

"I think you'd better call the Rangers," I said. "We need to…"

An alarm flashed, immediately drawing our attention. In the viewing screen, large ships began touching down on the outskirts of the mine. Opening up, they revealed a small army of Red and Blue Centurions, who immediately began marching towards the collapsed mine-shafts. Centurions are robotic scouts, designated with different colours. The Red Centurions are soldiers, adept at difficult missions in hostile situations, while the Blue Centurions specialise in law enforcement and search and rescue. Stronger and faster than human rescuers, there must've been hundreds of them, and they went to work without wasting a second. I let out a sigh of relief. They'd have the trapped miners rescued in a short while indeed.

"Thank goodness for the Centurions," Alpha said.

"Absolutely," I said. "They must've been close by."

A light began flashing to Alpha's right, and he turned to read the lines appearing on the screen. "One other thing, Zordon. Apparently one of the media outlets on Techthon was just robbed."

My brow fell. I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago. "That is an interesting turn of events," I replied. "And I suppose the Centurions were too busy at the mine to stop the theft?"

Alpha nodded. "It seems so."

"Hmm. What was taken?"

"According to this, the only thing stolen was a piece of hardware. Initial reports suggest that it was a data transfer regulator."

That was unusual. Data transfer regulators were important, but hardly valuable enough to warrant something like a mine collapse as a distraction. Even the fastest computer in the world can only process a certain amount of information in a set amount of time. Because of the nature of Techthon's many industries, the planet's media outlets need to be able to process huge streams of data very quickly. A transfer regulator helps slow down incoming information so that the receiving computer won't burn itself to a crisp. They're not that rare, and take less than three days to manufacture. We even have several of them here in the Command Centre.

"Why would someone steal a transfer regulator?" I pondered aloud. Onscreen, several of the Centurions had already broken through to a group of the trapped miners. "It makes no sense Alpha. Of all the things on Techthon to steal, there are many more items that would be far more valuable."

"Someone must've wanted one in a hurry," Alpha said. "But what on Earth for?"

I grimaced. "That, Alpha, is the question."

_To be continued._


	11. Chapter 11

Striker - that's cool man :). The subplot of the missing schoolboy will remain with us for the rest of the story, but knowing you (and how similar you and I can be sometimes :)), I think that one will really appeal to you. Watch this space :). As for my first original character, well, yeah. But there's 5 more original characters, and you'll meet them in the next chapter. Jokermask - thank you so much for the compliments :). My "Junior Team" saga was pretty much my main series, but I only wrote 8, before I jumped ahead and started writing a lot of little point-of-view and short-stories (like "Identity" or "Time Off" or "Here to Help"). I love this show, after all these years, and I still love these characters. And if I can share some of that joy, then I've done my job :). Another little chapter here (I know they seem tiny, but all these little chapters have actually been really important), next chapter up tomorrow! :)

* * *

**1:12 PM**

I was still mulling over the stolen transfer regulator when a message filtered into our system, and Alpha printed it out.

"Apparently the rash of unusual thefts is continuing," Alpha began, reading the message. "A religious monastery on the planet of Naribia was just ransacked. The Jade Temple, Zordon, on a forested mountain peak in the planet's equatorial tropics. Do you know of it?"

My eyes grew wide. "Alpha," I began, "that temple was the home of the summoning stone."

"Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Alpha cried.

Although I know they love Alpha dearly, the Rangers often ask me how I survive the day with my sanity intact, thanks to Alpha's speech habits. Truthfully, after about ten o'clock in the morning, I don't even notice them. I tried to reconfigure Alpha's voice programming once, to at least put the "Aye-yi-yis" on mute. But after a couple of days I started to miss them, so I left things the way they were.

"Zordon," Alpha continued, "the summoning stone is a powerful talisman. According to legend, it can be used to bring forth creatures who must obey the commands of the summoner!"

"This is troubling indeed," I nodded. "If someone stole the stone, they obviously plan to use it. Put the word out to all our agents."

"Zordon," Alpha began, a wondering tone in his voice. "Do you think these things are all connected?"

"As a matter of fact Alpha, I do," I replied. "And I'm quite concerned about what's going to happen next."

_To be continued._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter twelve, and the next big scene. We'll be meeting the other five of my original characters. And the one thing I haven't done in ages is write a big zord battle, so I maxed up the quota for "Day in the Life", and here's the first of a couple of good ones. Enjoy :).

* * *

**2:19 PM**

Alpha and I were following leads on the theft of the summoning stone when a light began flashing urgently on the console nearest the viewing screen.

"Alpha," I said, and nodded to the light. "It seems today isn't over yet. Honestly, this is worse than the day when the colour mauve declared war on humanity. What is it?"

Alpha wandered over. "Aye-yi-yi!" he said. "That's our deep space scanners! Something large is approaching Earth! From the readings here, it's coming in _fast_."

"Let's investigate," I said. "Maybe it's just a freighter or tourist ship, or even refugees fleeing something worse."

With the touch of a button, Alpha had located the invader, and the viewing screen flashed to life once again. Framed against the backdrop of the Milky Way, a giant v-shaped ship was powering through the inky black of space, with three smaller vessels a short distance out in front. As we watched, the fleet reached the asteroid belt, and continued on their path towards the small blue planet in the distance.

My eyes went wide. "Alpha," I began urgently, "the Senior Team is still recovering from this morning. Call the Junior Team at once."

Alpha glanced between various computer monitors. "Tommy seems fit as well."

"Then summon him too. I daresay we'll need him."

A minute later, the Rangers materialised before me in seven flashes of light.

"Zordon, what's going on?" Peter asked.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Peter," I said, "I know you're still looking for your friend but we have something of an emergency. If you could all turn to the viewing screen?" The Rangers spun around, and gasped at the sight of the four ships heading straight for Earth.

"A few minutes ago," I began, "we detected these ships approaching. We've spent the intervening minutes trying to communicate, but something in the main ship is blocking our transmissions. We can't reach them."

"So we should assume the worst?" asked Sarah.

"Well who's in the ship?" Scott asked. "Why are they coming for Earth? What do they want? And how did they get so close without us noticing?"

He paused to catch his breath after the barrage of rapid-fire questions. Scott's drive to learn and understand everything around him is his defining feature. The younger of the two Blue Rangers, his natural curiosity is something I admire greatly about him. People often remark that Billy has all the right answers. While this is usually true, it's often Scott who has the ability to ask the right questions.

I allowed myself a slight smile. "From the style of the ship, I think I can answer your questions Scott," I said. "I believe you'll find the ship filled with robotic drones, built to fight an ancient war between two nation-states that no longer exist. The ship should've been decommissioned centuries ago. Controlled by a single computer program, a hive-mind if you will, these ships were built to get past an enemy's defensive line by long-distance jumps through hyperspace. The problem is that the jumps required a great deal of energy from unstable power sources. Records tell us that most of the ships didn't even survive the jump, which is why the technology was abandoned."

"Well that's how we stop this," Peter said. "We get onboard the main ship and do enough damage to the generator to make it overload. The explosion will destroy the ships and the pieces will burn up in the atmosphere."

Brendan couldn't resist. "All that for an army of robots? Give us five minutes and a can-opener."

The Rangers groaned. I could always count on Brendan's ability to break the tension. His wit can both make his friends laugh or drive them to distraction. But that energy is what he brings to the team. Our Aqua Ranger is the single light, burning defiantly in the face of overwhelming darkness. I know they don't see it, but they'd be lost without him.

"The one problem," I said, "is that the ship is shielded. Once you get onboard, Alpha and I aren't going to be able to guide you. You'll have to rely on each other."

"We have to stop that ship," Teresa said. "What choice do we have?"

"Then the plan is set," I said. "Peter and Sarah, once onboard the ship, you'll need to find the communications room and disable the blocking signal. Teresa, Brendan and Scott, fight your way to the engine room. Ian and Tommy, I need you both to stay back, just in case."

"Okay guys," Peter nodded, as the Rangers all reached for their back-pockets. "It's morphin' time!"

There was a surge of power as the seven Rangers morphed in flashes of light too bright to watch. Then five of them were gone.

The Command Centre fell silent. Alpha, Tommy and Ian all turned to the viewing screen, watching as the Rangers shot towards the incoming ship and materialised inside, disappearing from view. This is the part I don't like. Being unable to protect or help them. Alpha and I are here to support the Rangers in any way we can. But on some missions, like trips through time or to alternate dimensions, or even to places too far away for our scanners, I have to sit by idly. It's one of the few times I feel helpless. If anything happens to the Rangers, I won't be there to assist them. Alpha always reminds me that the Rangers never hesitate volunteering for these unassisted missions, but still. This makes me uneasy.

Particularly a mission with so many unanswered questions. The hive-mind ships had all been destroyed centuries ago. Even if this one had been dormant all this time, why had it activated today? Why had it attacked Earth, a planet that had never been a target in the original war? What was going on?

"Alpha," I began, my voice breaking the silence. Ian and Tommy jumped. "Can you scan the exterior of the ship? Look for anything out of the ordinary. Let's see what we can learn that might help the Rangers once they re-establish communication."

Alpha turned to the nearest console and began typing. But just as the scan started, he looked back to me.

"Zordon, they're aware of us! The three smaller ships…"

"I see Alpha," I said. In the viewing screen, the three escorting ships suddenly roared to life, accelerating away from the main ship. They were obviously the advance fleet, and were moving too fast for even the Command Centre's computers to track.

"Where are they heading?" asked Tommy.

"Just a minute," I said, forcing data through the computers. "From the trajectory, and the speed they're travelling, factoring in the Earth's rotation…"

"Zordon, hurry!" said Ian.

"Russia!" I shouted. "They're going to touch down outside of Moscow. They're already halfway through the stratosphere. Go!"

The viewing screen flashed away from the incoming ship to the sky high above the Russian tundra. Scorching down through the atmosphere, the three ships burned red as they fell, descending from a clear sky with frozen Russian fields and farms spread out far below. In the distance, Moscow sat unaware of the approaching danger, still buried under a blanket of snowfall from the night before. In the villages surrounding the capital, people having breakfast heard the incoming ships and were slowly drawn to their windows in mounting dread.

As the ships approached, jets began to fire, dramatically slowing their descent. Now they were only a few hundred metres above the ground, panels and plates began to break away and two legs emerged, the thrusters at their feet. Panels along the ship's sides soon folded back, revealing two arms bristling with weaponry. Finally, a head emerged from the main body, with a single eye glowing bright red. Their transformation complete, the three ships gently touched down, the snow melting beneath them. In unison, they turned to face the distant city, and as they stepped towards it, a robotic voice droned out of the lead ship.

"People of Earth," it announced, "you stand alone. And we will…"

The robot ignited, torn apart without warning in a catastrophic explosion that shook the distant city and lit up the countryside, raining debris down over the snowy fields. The other two robots froze, their programming not processing what had just happened to their leader. After a few seconds, though, they registered that the ground was still shaking beneath them, and they turned around to see the silver Iguanodon and White Tigerzord powering towards them.

"All right Ian," Tommy called into the radio, as the Tigerzord raised its golden sword, "these losers don't get past us!"

"You got it," Ian replied, and the two Rangers charged the zords forward.

Both Ian and Tommy shared origins that involved neither Alpha nor myself. Tommy was drafted into the team by a foe, while Ian was chosen by the other Rangers through necessity. Despite this, or as I've often suspected because of it, the two Rangers formed a strong bond, and compliment each other perfectly. Tommy's power and confidence is tempered well by Ian's unerring aim and down-to-Earth humility. Between them, they make a powerful team. Grey and White, my two hidden weapons. My two Sixth Rangers.

Lumbering towards the ship on the right, the White Tigerzord swung its sword in a wide arc, carving the weapon through the robot's chest in a shower of sparks and fire. Staggering backwards, the robot raised its arms to retaliate, aiming a barrage of laser fire and rockets for the Tigerzord. Tommy pushed the zord forward through the onslaught, and the Tigerzord struck the ship's arms away and slashed again for its head. The invader quickly ducked the blow and aimed a low kick. The Tigerzord blocked the move, and while its opponent was off-balance, slammed the robot back with a powerful blow to the chest. As the invader retreated back, the Tigerzord raised its blade and followed after it to continue the battle.

Across the Russian fields, the second robot had seen the silver Iguanodon charging towards it and immediately taken action, raising its arms and firing. The Iguanodon was rocked by the barrage. But staying upright, the zord spun on the spot, smashing its tail into the invader and sending the ship crashing. The invading robot fought to regain its footing, but didn't get the opportunity to attack as the Iguanodon zord thundered forward, striking away one arm, blocking the robot's other and smashing the ship back. The robot raised its arms to fire again, but the Iguanodon swung its thumb claws for the ship's arms, destroying its weapons in a shower of sparks and smoke. Before the robot could retaliate, the Iguanodon's eyes glowed red, and the robot was blasted off its feet.

Damaged and barely standing, the two invaders backed away as the Iguanodon and Tigerzord closed in.

"Tiger bolts, fire!" Tommy cried. The Tigerzord raised its hands to its chest and unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the two robots. The entire field went up in a blaze of sparks and fire, and the Iguanodon stepped forward with its arms held wide.

"Iguanodon Essence Blast!" Ian shouted.

Clouds began swirling in the sky above. The Iguanodon's eyes glowed red, and as lightning crackled down from the heavens, the symbol on its chest suddenly blasted towards the robots, smashing into them and finishing what Tommy had started, tearing the two robots apart in a fiery explosion that sent a plume of smoke rocketing skywards.

"Awesome work man," called Tommy.

"You too," Ian replied.

Back in the Command Centre, Alpha suddenly raised his voice.

"Zordon! Our scan of the ship has identified a very specific type of radiation emanating from the ship's power source!"

I heard the word 'radiation' and immediately assumed the worst, heading straight for the data stream myself. But the sensors hadn't lied.

"That is bad news," I said, reappearing in my energy tube. "Alpha, we need to…"

With that, the viewing screen flickered away from the Russian capital. In another second, Alpha and I were soon looking at the inside of the approaching ship, with Peter and Sarah drifting into focus.

"Zordon, can you see us?" Peter was saying. "Are you there?"

"I'm happy to see you Rangers!" I replied. "I see you disabled the shielding!"

"Sort of," Peter said, and glanced to his cousin. "Sarah improvised."

I noticed for the first time the sparking ruins behind them, as Sarah rested her Power Mace on her shoulder. "You know what they say," the Purple Ranger said. "When all you have is a hammer, treat everything like a nail."

Sarah is one of the most competitive people I've ever met, which she channels into being the strongest Ranger she can be. She is fiercely loyal and a powerful fighter, with a knack for figuring out simple solutions to complex dilemmas. After all, while there are dozens of ways to open a locked door, sometimes, a good kick will work just as well in a fraction of the time.

"I'm glad to reach you," I said. "We need a new plan."

I was about to continue when the door behind them flew open and Scott, Teresa and Brendan raced into the room, a trail of smashed robotic foot-soldiers behind them.

"Zordon, we have a huge problem!" Scott shouted.

"I know," I replied. "Alpha's scan of the ship detected nuclear radiation. The ship has a nuclear fuel source."

"We came straight back when we saw it," said Teresa. "What do we do?"

"We can't risk radioactive debris raining down over Earth," Peter said.

"But we don't need to," Sarah said. "The ship travels by hyperdrive jumps, right? Let's just point it at a star and let it go. We've got a hundred billion to choose from."

"That's certainly possible," I said. "Now that we've established a link, we should easily be able to reprogram the ship's navigational system."

"And you're sure there's nobody alive on the ship but us?" Peter asked.

"Positive," I replied. "We can barely even detect the ship's hive-mind."

Peter nodded. "Then do it."

"Alpha," I began, "begin feeding in the coordinates of a star, many light years away from us, and with no orbiting planets."

In a few seconds, Alpha looked up from his computer and nodded, and I raised my voice. "Rangers, we've done it! You need to get out of there!"

"Let's go!" shouted Brendan, and the five Rangers reached for their wrists and teleported out of the ship, shooting back towards the Earth in five streaks of light. As they materialised in the Command Centre, the ship on the viewing screen shook once then vanished, disappearing into hyperspace.

"You did it!" I shouted, as the Rangers all cheered. "Our sensors indicate that the ship exited hyperspace a few kilometres out from a star on the other side of the galaxy, and was immediately destroyed. The threat is over. Excellent work."

Ian and Tommy soon joined us. But as they celebrated their victory, I glanced down to Alpha.

"You don't look relieved Zordon," Alpha said quietly.

"I'm not," I said. "While we were in contact with the ship, our computers found no evidence of the hive-mind. It's like the ship was sleep-walking. No, this whole mission was very strange. And I don't like strange, Alpha. I don't like it one bit."

_To be continued._


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys and gals, sorry for the delay, real life got in the way. Striker - thanks for that, I figured you'd *love* that moment. It's the theme of the story - in just about every chapter, somebody somewhere is trapped, in danger, or otherwise alone. And you'll see that played out in the next five or so chapters. Watch this space! Heh. Enjoy chapter thirteen ;).

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**3:51 PM**

After the thwarted invasion, Alpha and I spent the next hour overseeing repair-work on the zords. Both the Tigerzord and the Iguanodon had gotten a solid workout this afternoon, but there were other tasks that needed to be carried out and this was the first time today we'd had the chance.

As with any large electronic device, there is wiring to be fixed and gears to be replaced, not to mention ammunition to test and restock. Alpha and I had both noticed that the White Tigerzord was turning slow on the left side. It was out by only half a second, but half a second can often mean the difference between victory and defeat. Also on the agenda, we needed to install new star-charts and update navigation programs in Kimberly's Phoenix and Sarah's Rhamphorynchus zords. There are giant blades that need to be sharpened, which is difficult enough on normal-sized weapons, let alone swords that are eight storeys tall. Finally on the list, the air-conditioning ducts on Brendan's Dilophozord were still icing over, while Zac's seat in the Thunder Megazord cockpit wasn't swivelling properly.

We have a small army of robotic droids to help us with the repair work, but it still took us an hour before we'd even reached the repainting phase.

That's the thing about giant robots. They're very useful, but nobody ever thinks about the maintenance.

I checked back on the newsfeed to make sure everything was quiet, and quickly saw there was no news on any front. It was almost unnerving, like the calm before an oncoming storm. I checked again to make sure nothing else required our attention, but aside from some seismic tremors in the Mediterranean Sea, the world was generally quiet. I returned my attention to the zord holding bay deep beneath the mountain, my face appearing on a screen beside Alpha's work station.

"Right Alpha," I began, "where did we get to on fixing the Dilophozord's air-conditioning ducts?"

"Just a minute Zordon," Alpha replied, "and I'll pull up the schematics."

I paused for a second, and watched as the smallest robot in my employ began diligently figuring out how to fix the largest ones. I'm honestly not sure how I'd manage without Alpha. He was built to be fully sentient, and it amazes me all the traits he's picked up from the Rangers over the years. A fondness for celebrating Christmas and Easter, for one thing. But the Rangers will never know the number of times Alpha has saved the day for them without them even realising it. More to the point, the little android has helped me keep loneliness at bay for centuries. In this time-warp, I am totally alone, yet with Alpha's company, I was never alone.

And although I never tell him, I'd be lost without him.

_To be continued._


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for all the reviews :).

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**4:30 PM**

With all the repair-work done on the zords, Alpha and I turned our attention to Europe. A volcano sitting on a tiny island off the coast of Italy was dangerously close to erupting, threatening the island's coastal villages. Volcanic eruptions were frighteningly powerful. Through the years, Alpha and I had seen several that had exploded so violently they'd affected the entire planet. But younger generations tend to forget that the mountain they're building their home on is actually a ticking clock. Evacuations were currently underway, but the nearby residents weren't moving fast enough. If the volcano erupted now, the loss of life would be catastrophic.

But in a moment that reminded me why I chose them, I'd just decided to call the Rangers when teleport streaks shot down through the ceiling, and the team materialised in the central chamber.

"Rangers," I smiled. "It's good to see you all," and I gazed around the room. "But where are Peter and Teresa?"

"They're still searching for David Corbett, the missing student," Jason replied. "They've got half the town looking. The rest of us thought we could shift our attention elsewhere."

"The volcano in Italy," Trini nodded. "We all decided that we had to do something. We want to help."

I smiled to myself. I didn't doubt that Trini had organised the group. Trini's capacity for compassion and empathy are an example not just to the Rangers, but to myself and Alpha as well. Supporting any number of charities and causes, Trini has a passionate need to help everyone around her, from her closest friends to the world at large. Even without her powers, I have no doubt Trini would be a powerful force for making the world a better place.

"Alpha and I were just monitoring the situation," I said. "And I agree. What do you think would be the best course of action?"

"That's simple enough," Sarah replied. "Half of us help with the evacuation."

"While the rest of us can use our zords to dig trenches to the sea," Trini finished, "diverting the molten lava into the water."

Billy raised his hand. "But if the eruption is as catastrophic as a number of prominent geologists are suggesting," he began, "then we'll need to prevent a tsunami from striking nearby coastlines along the mainland."

"Another trench along the beach should take care of that," Scott suggested.

"Great idea," Ian nodded.

As the Rangers organised themselves, I couldn't help but wonder where should we draw the line? Our opponent wasn't a monster from space or a demon from the underworld. Our enemies here are time and simple geological forces. By our very nature, the Rangers and I live in the murky world between intervention and domination. When is it too much? When do people cease being protected, and start being kept as pets? This is why I limit the Rangers as much as I can to threats nobody else on Earth has the authority or weaponry to deal with. Too much interference leads to control, and the abuse of power. I've seen it happen, and it is a dark road to travel down.

Still, if the Rangers ask for permission to investigate something, I'll rarely turn them down. I trust these twelve brave men and women, and trust their judgement almost as much as my own. As Teresa always says, we're here to help.

Before me, the Rangers had assembled themselves ready for the trip to Europe.

"We'll keep an eye on you in the viewing screen," Alpha said.

"Indeed," I added, and the Rangers looked up to me as they reached for their communicators. "Good luck Rangers. Go save some lives," and the ten heroes vanished from the Command Centre.

_To be continued._


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks guys. I have a couple of earlier stories, in my collection here, where the Rangers head in to deal with natural disasters that have overwhelmed local search and rescue. I think it's an interesting dynamic to explore, plus, they're the Rangers, they're gonna help :). Four chapters to go, here, and big things start happening :). Enjoy!

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**5:49 PM **

Alpha and I continued to monitor the Rangers in the Mediterranean, occasionally checking in with Peter and Teresa to ask whether they needed any help. The Rangers had been in Italy for only an hour when the volcano erupted, launching a thick cloud of choking ash high into the sky and sending a tide of molten lava down towards the coast. But the Rangers had done their work well. The island's villages had long since been evacuated, and lava was flowing safely down the hastily-dug trenches out to sea. The Rangers were even patrolling the sea to keep tourist and fishing boats well away.

As the sun began to set outside the Command Centre's walls, the viewing screen started flicking, fading into static for longer and longer periods.

"We're losing them," Alpha said. "The eruption is throwing up too much interference into the Earth's atmosphere."

"Which leaves the Rangers far away indeed," I said, and suddenly felt uneasy. "For the first time today, Alpha, we're on our own."

I should've known not to tempt fate. I hadn't even finished the sentence when the Command Centre alarm began to sound.

Alpha looked up. "Zordon, what is it? The volcano? Another monster?"

"No, Alpha," I said. A quick scan of the incoming newsfeed gave me all the answers I needed. "Something terrible is happening far away."

The viewing screen switched back on, and Alpha and I found ourselves staring at the city of Devryn in the early morning, with the faintest glow from the rising sun visible on the horizon. A second later, the scene flashed towards the four stone giants carved into the cliff, still cloaked in the night's shadows. I saw who I was looking for soon enough. A tiny figure was striding across the sandy plain towards the giants. He wore a shining silver crown and a long cape that was billowing out behind him as he muttered ancient spells in a long-forgotten language.

"That's Guptus the wizard!" Alpha cried. "He's trying to release the giants!"

"We should've realised he was involved in everything happening today," I said, then frowned and quickly checked the planet's atmospheric conditions. There was no wind. The atmosphere around Devryn was remarkably settled.

"Good lord," I murmured. "Guptus enchanted his own cape, just for the sake of looking dramatic."

On the viewing screen, Guptus reached into his robes and pulled free a large green jewel. Alpha let out a fresh fit of "aye-yi-yis". "Zordon, that's the summoning stone! He stole it from the temple on Naribia! That was his plan all along, to wake up the giants and use them to destroy the city!"

As we watched, the giant closest to Guptus began to shake. Showers of dust and dirt started raining down the side of the cliff-face, the tremors growing steadily more violent with each passing second. Finally, with the sound of the rock face cracking and splintering, the first of the giants pulled himself away from the mountain. The entire plain shook as he climbed down from the cliff-face and turned to face Guptus. The wizard froze in a strange mixture of terror and wonder, but a self-congratulatory smile soon appeared on his face and he continued chanting. Before long, the other three giants had shook themselves awake, and begun pulling away from the cliff to join their leader. In the distance, the sleeping city of Devryn had no idea of the danger looming over it.

"The giants are awake!" Alpha cried. "We have no allies on Lomerius, and we can't reach the Rangers because of the volcano!"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter any more Alpha, there's no time left."

"What do you mean?"

"It's begun," I said, and looked up past the roof to the stars beyond. "Alpha… _he's here_."

_To be continued._


	16. Chapter 16

Striker - well, now that you mention it... ;) So, remember all those little chapters that didn't seem like they were very important? Well, actually... enjoy!

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**6:01 PM**

I felt it coming long before any of the Command Centre's sensors. A gigantic mass teleport, heading straight down through the Earth's atmosphere directly towards the Command Centre.

As Alpha stood watching, lights started flashing and the alarm began to sound, automated systems trying to warn us of the incoming threat. But they were all too late. On the mountain plateau a short distance away from the Command Centre, the air seemed to shimmer, when there was a sudden explosion of blinding light, so intense it knocked out our external cameras. When the light faded, an ominous sight greeted us.

The robot army from Onyx now stood in formation, thousands of them staring silently up at the building. A second later, one final teleport streak shot down out of the evening sky, a lone figure soon materialising at the head of the army. Small and unassuming, he seemed like the kind of person who went out of his way to be invisible, and he looked distinctly out of place with an army behind him. But his face was harder than I remember, and his expression was twisted with thoughts of hate and revenge. It was a look I'd seen before. His eyes burned with rage, and the scar on his face was impossible to miss.

Skansan the thief.

"Alpha," I said, "please activate the building's external panels."

"Right away Zordon."

Armoured panels on the front of the building slid back, revealing a giant-sized viewing screen. Skansan turned to face it, and I saw him sneer as my face flickered into view. The desert landscape was now spread out before me, draped in lengthening shadows as the sun slowly sank below the horizon.

"Old man!" Skansan shouted, and stepped towards me. His army hadn't moved.

"Skansan," I said, keeping my voice neutral and quietly opening a communicator channel while his attention was fixed on me. "I was wondering when you'd make an appearance."

Skansan's pace slowed. "You're not surprised to see me?"

"No," I replied. "I think, Skansan, that thoughts of power and invincibility are clouding your judgement. But you know as well as I do that no sentient being can enter this fortress without a Power Coin in their possession. So you brought with you an army of non-sentient ones. It's a sound plan. I'm impressed."

The thief's face fell. "Aren't you curious…?"

"How you even found this place?" I interrupted. "Not really. The truth, Skansan, the truth I should've realised decades ago, is that you're a _technopath_. You can communicate and interface directly with any form of electronic technology." I paused, watching as Skansan's smile began to fade. "You sent that monster this morning, didn't you? You knew the Rangers would be outmatched and that I'd pull them back to protect them, and you traced their teleport signal back here. In any event, that's how you stole those weapons, all those years ago. And as for today, I assume it was you who woke up the hive-mind ship and sent it to attack Earth this afternoon, to distract the Rangers and I while you moved your army halfway across the galaxy to within striking range of Earth."

Skansan laughed. "You've been keeping tabs on me all afternoon, haven't you?" he asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," I replied. "We've been watching you since five o'clock this morning."

The thief's resolve seemed to fail, but he rallied magnificently. "But, well, there's still the city of Devryn!" he shouted. "I'll destroy it! Destroy it with the giants and…!"

"And while I'm sending out agents to protect the city, that will leave Alpha and myself unguarded," I finished.

"Zordon," Alpha began, "I still can't reach the Rangers in Italy!"

"It's all right Alpha," I said. "Skansan has travelled a long way today. We should at least be polite and indulge him."

"I did not come here to be patronised!" Skansan shouted. Turning back to the nearest robot, he clicked his fingers. The robot stepped forward, its body folding into itself as projection equipment emerged from its torso. Before long, a holographic viewing screen had risen above the desert, with the same view that Alpha and I had been watching earlier. Guptus the wizard, holding the summoning stone high and leading the giants of Lomerius towards the city. The horizon was bright now. Sunrise was less than a minute away.

"Yes, your ally Guptus with the stone you stole for him," I said. Hearing my voice, Skansan turned back to face me. "He intends on using the stone to control the giants. The summoning stone is such a fascinating magical device. I know this because it's currently sitting in my vault, deep under the mountain." I paused to let the information settle in his head, and watched as Skansan's eyes grew wide. "The titans of Horath were the clue. Guptus practiced the spell on them, didn't he? But he couldn't control them. So hours before you made it to the Jade Temple, Alpha and I substituted the summoning stone for the crystal of shadows, a Lomerian artefact created by the planet's sand tribes. There were a few other artefacts you could've taken, but the summoning stone was the best bet. Now, the crystal of shadows does the same thing as the summoning stone, except it makes the subject fatally allergic to sunlight. It's useless, of course, against anything in the Universe not made of Lomerian sand. It's such a pity that's exactly what those four giants are made of."

The silence that followed was deafening. "And checking the weather broadcasts from Devryn, what do you know?" I asked. "It's going to be a fine day."

Skansan spun back to the screen. "No, you can't, that's…" but his voice fell away. We all watched as the giants lumbered across the field after Guptus – until a single beam of sunlight shot over the horizon. The ray sliced clean through the first giant's body, cutting his torso in half. The giant looked down in dismay, but could do nothing else as his rocky body suddenly collapsed beneath him. By now, the other three had figured out that something was terribly wrong, but it was already too late. Light from the sun punched through the second and third giants and left gaping holes in their bodies. The fourth giant raised his arm to protect him, but the arm was struck by the sun and immediately crumbled. And as Guptus froze in growing bewilderment, all four of the giants collapsed into billowing piles of harmless dust.

Guptus held the stone close to his face, but the gem passed through a beam of sunlight and fell apart in his hands. Cutting his losses, the wizard turned to run, but was immediately wrapped up in his own enchanted cape. I had to stifle a laugh. By the time Guptus had wrestled himself free, a legion of security forces from the city had descended on the plain. With their weapons raised, they closed in around him, and we watched him drop to the ground and instantly surrender.

The humiliation on Skansan's face rapidly gave way to white-hot rage. "What have you done?" he shouted.

"Done?" I repeated. "I saved the city of Devryn, guaranteed a favour from the city's chancellor at some point in the future, finally destroyed the Lomerian giants, and lured Guptus out of hiding to have him apprehended, keeping him safe from himself more than from anyone else. That's what I did today, Skansan."

"No matter," the thief sneered, and nodded to his army. "I still have them."

"Yes, I was wondering when we'd come to that," I said. "I spent most of the day trying to imagine what your ultimate goal was. Destroying me might have been a start, but where was the profit? Then I realised it. It's actually quite simple, isn't it? Your target today was this fortress, to get inside and plunder our databanks. You would gain knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of all our allies and opponents, as well as valuable secrets and weapons, to say nothing of the directions to treasures of unimaginable wealth. All of which you'd sell to the highest bidder, making you the richest person in the galaxy."

Skansan's mouth fell open, closed, then fell open again. No sound came out.

"Of course, a direct download of all that information would be too much, even for a technopath," I continued. "So you caused the mine collapse on Techthon, and then stole the transfer regulator. Well done."

"You're clever," Skansan sneered. "But I still don't see my disadvantage."

I smiled. "Alpha is not the best hacker in the world, it's true," I said. "But we get by. He got us into that factory on Onyx this morning. In the time available to us, I installed several new programs into your army. Small, simple things that you probably didn't even think to look for."

"You're lying!" Skansan shouted.

"Of course I am," I said. "Alpha, activate the kill switch."

Inside the building, Alpha pressed a single button on the console before him. "Done," he said.

Behind Skansan, the entire army jerked spasmodically. Their arms flailed and heads twisted, before they all slumped into place, the blinking lights on their heads fading.

Skansan spun around in disbelief. "How did you…?"

"Alpha," I continued, "activate the self-destruct function."

"No!" Skansan screamed. Even as Alpha pressed a second button, Skansan's arms shot out wide. A blue pulse exploded from his finger-tips, radiating out to protect the robots closest to him as the rest of the army ripped itself apart, soon nothing more than piles of burning metal. But the hundreds caught in Skansan's pulse remained standing, and even as I watched, he mentally reached out to them and switched them back on.

"These are more than enough to get what I want!" he cried. As one, the army stepped forward. "There's nobody inside to protect you anymore! I waited until your precious Rangers were on the other side of this stupid planet! And…"

"Most."

Skansan's voice faltered. "Most?"

"Most of my Rangers have been on the other side of the planet," I said. "Except two. Two, who've been listening to this entire exchange. You're not the only one who can bluff and distract just to buy yourself time, Skansan. And here we are."

Twelve teleport streaks shot down from the sky, and the Rangers materialised in a line across the desert between the Command Centre and Skansan's army. Skansan stumbled back in shock, while the Rangers raised their arms, ready for battle.

"Rangers," I said. "I'm glad Peter and Teresa reached you in time."

"Who is this creep?" asked Kimberly.

"His name is Skansan," I replied. "He was responsible for many of our troubles today. His ultimate goal is to breach the walls of the Command Centre and steal our databanks. Beware Rangers. He can communicate directly with technology. The closer he gets to the building, the more dangerous he'll become."

"Then he ain't getting past us," Zac said.

Glancing along the line of Rangers, Teresa lowered her hands and stepped forward. "We don't want to have to fight you," she called. "Look at this destruction. It doesn't have to be like this. Please, just think of all the things you could do and all the people you could help. Wouldn't that be better?"

I shouldn't have been surprised. Teresa's empathy drives her. The White Ranger may be a fearsome adversary, but her sole goal as a Ranger is to help and benefit the people around her. I've seen Teresa's courage and compassion do amazing things more times than I can remember. For the first time that day, I was genuinely angry with Skansan for not even realising the opportunity he was throwing away. Instead, he turned back to his robot troops.

"Kill them all!" he shouted. "Get me into the building!"

The Rangers reached for their blade-blasters and took aim. But Skansan whipped back to face them. I saw his eyes flash, and the blasters failed to fire.

"It's Skansan," Billy said. "He's communicating directly with our weapons and instructing them not to fire."

The Rangers reholstered their blasters. "Great," Brendan murmured. "The old fashioned way it is, then."

Tommy unsheathed Saba, and while Ian shifted his blaster into blade mode, the other ten Rangers held out their arms. Inside the Command Centre, Alpha watched the surge of power as the Rangers summoned their Power Weapons in flashes of light.

"Let's do this Rangers!" Jason shouted, as the robotic army closed in.

"Right!"

I watched in awe as the twelve Rangers raised their weapons and raced forward to meet the wave of oncoming foes. By themselves, each Ranger is a formidable force at the best of times. But fighting alongside each other, working as a single unstoppable unit, with battle-instincts and teamwork honed to near perfection? Rare is the day when they don't take my breath away.

Side-by-side, Peter and Jason charged into the crowd of opponents, slashing their swords around them in blurs of motion, leaving piles of shattered foes in their wake. Nearby, Kimberly raised her bow and fired again and again, arrows flashing through the air as she destroyed wave after wave of robotic soldiers from afar. A few metres away, Trini and Billy were fighting back-to-back. Billy was spinning his lance around him and striking enemies away before they got close, while Trini's daggers were nothing so much as solid lightning as she disabled foe after foe before continuing. To the other side, the robots were piling up on the desert floor as Sarah smashed through their lines with her mace, making ground with every step on a direct path towards Skansan.

Across the battlefield, a crowd of robotic soldiers closed in around Tommy, only to fall in sparking ruin as Tommy sliced Saba through their ranks in wide devastating arcs. Behind him, the few that escaped were quickly disabled by Ian, the Grey Ranger's hands and feet moving so fast it was hard to even see them. A short distance away, a steady stream of robots were flying through the air as Zac smashed his way through the army with wide sweeps of his Power Axe, while alongside him, Brendan was picking off foes with his twin sai, throwing out one-liners to anyone listening. Nearby, several of the robots leaped towards Teresa, but she caught one in mid-flight with her whip and launched it at the others. Fighting beside his sister, Scott spun his staff around him, blocking attackers and throwing them away.

Skansan watched in growing despair as his army was cut down like grass. Realising the battle was against him, he turned and ran, reaching for the teleport device in his belt. He'd only made it three steps when pink arrows thudded into the ground before him, bringing him to an abrupt halt. He turned to the left but Teresa's whip cracked at his feet. In a blind panic, he turned again, finally freeing the teleport control.

"Hey," called Sarah, scooping up a rock. "Talk to this!" She launched it straight for Skansan's head, immediately taking him to the ground. As he hit the sand, the device bounced out of his hand and rolled away. He frantically crawled after it but was too late, as Trini threw one of her daggers and instantly destroyed it.

Peter and Jason kicked away the last of the robotic army, and joined the rest of their teammates as they closed in around Skansan. Looking up, the thief saw his army destroyed, and finally seemed to realise how much trouble he was in.

"Now what?" asked Tommy.

"We'll contact the authorities on Devryn," I began. "And…"

I suddenly noticed that the wreckage on all sides of the Rangers was shaking, pieces of debris rocking back and forth on the sand. I glanced back to Skansan and saw his eyes glowing.

"Rangers pull back right now!" I shouted. The Rangers didn't question the order, immediately retreating up the hill towards the Command Centre.

"Aye-yi-yi Zordon!" Alpha cried from inside the building. "We destroyed his army, but he's still controlling them! He's waking them up!"

"Good," I replied. "Let's hope he keeps doing exactly what I expect him to."

On the field, Skansan climbed to his feet with a look of crazed power on his face. All around him, pieces of his robots were skittering across the desert floor towards him. First it was the smaller nuts and bolts, followed by torn pieces of armour plating, but then it was larger and larger pieces, twisting around him to form a metal shell. As the shell grew larger, two gigantic legs began to form across the plateau, beside a pair of enormous arms. Drawn towards each other, the pieces were soon absorbed into the main body in a shower of sparks. Before long, Skansan's metallic behemoth had risen over the desert. Controlling the structure from within, Skansan took a few seconds to get used to his creation, but sure enough, the robot soon took its first hesitant steps.

"Rangers," I called, "we're sending the zords!"

"Yes!" boomed Skansan's voice, echoing out over the desert. "Send more giant robots for me to play with!"

I smiled grimly. "Skansan," I began, "you now have a body composed of thousands of individual pieces, all fighting to fall apart. Are your powers so great that you can control _another four giant robots_?"

The behemoth froze, when the White Tigerzord slammed its fist into the robot's head, rocking it back. The desert shook as the Tigerzord followed after its foe, swinging high, but the behemoth struck away the Tigerzord's fist and countered with a low punch. The Tigerzord found its footing and attacked, but Skansan's robot blocked a low kick and sent the Tigerzord crashing with a powerful punch, before turning to see the Iguanodon powering towards it. The behemoth lashed out, but the Iguanodon ducked the move before kicking the robot back. While the behemoth was still off-balance, the zord spun around on the spot and slammed its tail into the robot's chest.

The behemoth slowly climbed to tis feet and turned to face the Command Centre. There stood the two Megazords. With an angry roar, Skansan pushed the robot forward, lashing out for the Thunder Megazord. The Thunder Megazord stepped around the blow as the Dino Megazord attacked, blocking the behemoth's other hand and landing a powerful blow to the robot's stomach. The behemoth recovered quickly, kicking away the Thunder Megazord before spinning back to the Dino Megazord. Raising the robot's hand, Skansan concentrated and the Dino Megazord froze, locked in place. But the technopath only had a second to enjoy his success, as Jason pushed the Thunder Megazord forward, slamming the zord's fist into the behemoth's head and sending it crashing.

Before the robot could retaliate, the Tigerzord attacked, firing a barrage of energy bolts towards it. The desert went up in smoke, and the Junior Team steered their Megazord back over to join the Senior Team.

"Power Sword!"

"Thunder Sabre!"

The Thunder Megazord drew its long, curved sabre as the Power Sword descended from a suddenly cloudy sky and fell to the desert floor. The Dino Megazord pulled the sword free and raised it high while the Thunder Megazord did the same. Bolts of lighting danced down from the heavens, striking both blades and charging them with power. Together, the two Megazords swung their blades for Skansan's robot – the two arcs blasted across the battlefield, slamming into the behemoth and instantly destroying it in a massive explosion that sent a fireball billowing skyward.

The Rangers celebrated the victory as the smoke cleared. But as debris rained down over the desert, Alpha and I scanned the battlefield, and soon found Skansan, lying unconscious in a pile of twisted armour and burnt wires. The shell had protected him.

"Well done Rangers," I said, and finally let myself smile. "Skansan the thief has been defeated. We did it."

_To be continued._


	17. Chapter 17

Thanks guys. Out in the desert, I wanted a _huge_ fight. I'm glad you enjoyed it :). Striker - yeah, one of the things I most wanted to do with "A Day in the Life" was to show just how canny and smart Zordon is, being constantly a step ahead of everyone else. I loved him as the benevolent mentor, but we never really explored how darn _sneaky_ he could be when the situation required it. Anyway, second last chapter, with one more storyline to wrap up. I think, Striker, that you'll really like this. Enjoy.

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**7:32 PM**

With Skansan and Guptus now in custody of Devryn's security forces, Skansan's army defeated and the four giants reduced to dust, I quickly checked that all the Rangers had made it home safely, making sure that Skansan didn't have any back-up plans he'd put into motion. I doubted that he did. Our opponents always believe themselves to be unbeatable. They never assume that they'll fail, so they never bother making secondary plans to fall back on. This tended to work out well for everybody.

But as I checked both the Youth Centre and the college bar, four Rangers were missing. Peter, Scott, Jason and Kimberly were not with the others, and not in their homes. After the day we'd all lived through, I wasn't taking any chances.

"Alpha," I said quickly. "Do an immediate sweep for four of the Rangers. Peter, Jason, Scott and Kimberly are missing. I can't find them anywhere."

Only a few seconds passed before Alpha looked back to me. "Zordon, I've got them!" he replied. "They're in the park!"

"Activate the viewing screen and patch us through," I said.

The viewing screen flickered to life once more, showing the northern end of the city park. The cricket training nets were nearby, and the trees and picnic benches were all cloaked in shadow. I swept my eyes over the grounds, and soon saw the Rangers making their way through the park. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw where they were going. Ahead of them, a fifth figure sat hunched over on the grass. It was a boy, maybe the same age as the Rangers. His knees were curled up to his chest, and he was hugging them tightly. I quickly scanned the school database.

"Ah," I said. "I understand. Alpha, that's the missing boy. David Corbett, the school-friend Peter called us about today. They found him."

My voice fell away. They actually found him. With everything that had happened today, with all the monsters and disasters and emergencies, a lost soul desperately needed their help _and they found him_. I've watched the Rangers do so many impossible things that it should've stopped surprising me exactly what they can accomplish. But it never does, and I doubt it ever will.

"Zordon, should we…?"

"Just listen for the moment," I said. "Please turn the sound up."

On screen, the Rangers slowly approached their friend. It was a quiet night. There was no wind through the trees, and very little sounds from the city beyond the park. Jason, Kim and Scott hung back, unsure of how to proceed. But glancing to his friends, Peter stepped over to David's side.

"Hey Dave," the Orange Ranger began softly. "We were looking for you all day, man. We were worried about you."

For a minute, David didn't respond. Wiping his eyes with his hands, he looked up to meet Peter's gaze. Even I could see the tears in his eyes, and my heart ached for him. He was in pain.

"I'm sorry," David stuttered. "I didn't… I didn't know what to do or who to talk to. I…" but his voice trailed off. "Are you guys here to tell me about everything I have waiting for me at home? Why I should go back to my happy life? That it's all going to magically get better by itself?"

Peter sat down on the grass. "No," he said finally. "I'm not going to say any of that. But can I tell you something?" Dave nodded, and Peter continued. "Whatever you're up against man, wherever you are in life, I want you to remember that there is someone, somewhere, who wants you to _fight_, to stand up and beat this thing. I promise you that you are not here fighting by yourself, okay?"

David nodded slowly. "Okay."

Jason knelt down in front of him. "So whatever you're carrying," Jason began, "whatever weight is on your shoulders, let us help you carry it."

"You shouldn't have to," David replied. "I should be able to do this by myself, you… you shouldn't have to."

Kimberly took David's hand. "We know," she said. "But we want to."

David nodded. As the Rangers joined him, he wiped his eyes again and began. "It's just, it's been so hard lately…"

"Alpha," I began, breaking the silence of the Command Centre, "you can switch off the screen. I think the Rangers are fine."

"Yes Zordon," Alpha replied. While he busied himself dusting the consoles, the Command Centre fell silent.

I think people have the wrong idea about us. Yes, there are battles to fight and wars to be won, and I spend most of my days trying to stay ten steps ahead of a galaxy's worth of monsters and tyrants. But all I ever wanted to do, from establishing the Ranger program all those years ago, was to be able to tell people, "Hold on. Just please hold on. Help is coming. _You are not alone_."

And whether the Rangers are battling a monster, fighting a natural disaster or standing beside someone to help them face their own demons, every day they remind me why I chose them, and how proud I am of them.

_To be concluded._


	18. Chapter 18

Final chapter! Thank you to all the wonderful people who left reviews. I'm just glad you guys and gals all enjoyed the story :). A nice little chapter to round everything out. Until next time :).

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**Later that evening, when even the ghosts were asleep…**

With the moon and stars keeping watch high above, I checked back over the events of the day. The monsoonal flooding on Euclid was subsiding, with no major damage or loss of life. Lava from the volcano in the Mediterranean was flowing safely out to sea. All twenty-three of the miners on Techthon had been rescued, the moon was still quiet with Zedd saving his schemes for tomorrow, and most importantly of all, the Rangers were walking their friend home, promising to talk to him again in the morning.

Despite everything that happened, the Earth was still turning. The galaxy remained safe for another day.

It had been a long day. It seemed like everything was finally catching up to me. I felt… tired?

Hmm. That was new.

"Alpha, can you watch the monitors for me?" I asked. "Let me know if there's anything that requires our attention."

"Not a problem Zordon," Alpha replied. I knew he'd be waiting for me in the morning.

"Thank you Alpha," I smiled. With that, I stepped back, and disappeared from the central chamber as my tube went dark. I shut my eyes for just a minute, feeling the events of the day ebbing away, and for the first time in a long while, I drifted off into a deep, restful sleep.

_The End._


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